


Scared... No, Concerned.

by bloodstonepentagram



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, One Shot, Short, Spoilers for Episode 33, it's amazing what this site has tags for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 15:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1006980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodstonepentagram/pseuds/bloodstonepentagram
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos heard Cecil's latest broadcast. He's worried about Cecil and wants to do something to help him. A short fluffy reaction to the events of Cassette.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scared... No, Concerned.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing about these two, and is also my first published fanfic in years. Sorry if it's kind of unpolished. I just had a lot of feelings about Cassette and started venting them through short fics. I'm still kind of getting a feel for Cecil and Carlos's characters, but I did my best.  
> Anyway, gratuitous cuteness ahead. Hope you like it!

Carlos listened to the broadcast with something approaching horror. That sound… Near the end… Choking…

Oh god, what had happened that day? What could happen that would make Cecil forget so much? Why? Why did he forget his brother, but not his mother? 

And… If that… Younger Cecil had… Well… 

What did that make _his_ Cecil?

Horrible thoughts raced through his mind, making his skin crawl. What was Cecil? The man he had grown so close to, _loved_ even… Was he even real, or just some _thing_ that had… Had murdered the real Cecil?

Then Carlos realized what he was thinking, and felt ashamed of himself. How could he for one second believe that Cecil, his Cecil, who wore ridiculous pants, and squealed like a little girl over cat videos, and greeted the spiders in the corners of his house by name, could possibly be… He wasn't exactly sure what. 

Still, whatever…all of that had been, one thing was very clear. Cecil was just as scared and confused as he was. No, even more so. He didn't remember the tapes, or anything that was on them, and he was clearly disturbed by them. Whoever, whatever he was, he was still the man Carlos had fallen in love with. And as his boyfriend (the word was still a little strange, though not unpleasantly so), it was Carlos's job to help him through it.

He set aside the notes he'd been pouring over, carefully putting away his makeshift quill and ink pot (both of which, he was proud to say, he'd made himself), and pulled out his phone.

He sent a text to Cecil.

'Hey ceec, wanna come over tonight? i'll make tacos'

He waited impatiently for Cecil's response. Finally the phone lit up with a new message.

'im pretty tired tonite might just go home :('

Carlos frowned, typing out another message.

'Aw, okay, i was just hoping to see you. we're both always so busy'

It was pretty low of him, Carlos knew, but he couldn't stand the thought of Cecil sitting in his apartment, drinking away his existential terror alone.

He worried that Cecil wouldn't respond, but finally he got a reply.

'ok ill come over'

Carlos sighed in relief, sending off a quick ':)' before heading off to the kitchen to start making dinner.

***

When Cecil arrived, Carlos had some meat and vegetables simmering and was grilling some corn tortillas.

"Hey, Ceec," he said, giving him a kiss as he let him in. 

Cecil looked…haggard, shoulders tense, eyes wide and darting around. 

Carlos wrapped an arm around him. As he did so, he found himself remembering the recording. He almost flinched away, but managed to stop himself at the last second.

"Are you doing okay?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

Cecil's expression told him he had failed. "Did you hear the show?"

Carlos looked down. "Yes." He looked back at Cecil, concern knotting his brow. "Do you want to talk about it, or..?"

Cecil shook his head emphatically. "No," he said, slipping into his radio voice. "There is nothing to talk about."

"Okay," Carlos said, hugging him a little closer. Cecil resisted at first, then leaned gradually into the hug, wrapping his arms around Carlos's waist like it was the only thing keeping him from floating off into the black void of space. That, Carlos reflected, was an odd choice of simile. He'd clearly been in Night Vale for a long time.

They stood there like that for a while, until Carlos kissed Cecil's forehead and said, "Hey, Ceec, I think I smell something burning."

Luckily the burnt food was pretty easy to scrape away, and the tacos were delicious, if Carlos didn't say so himself. Cecil, however, hardly seemed to taste anything. He just picked at his food staring off into space with that same fearful, dead-eyed look on his face. Carlos did at least see him eat something, though, which was a good sign. 

Carlos didn't bother cleaning up the dishes afterward, instead luring Cecil gently to the couch and pulling him into a cuddle. Cecil leaned his head on his chest with a deep, prolonged sigh. 

Neither of them said anything for a while. To be honest, Carlos wasn't sure if it would be entirely legal to talk about it, although he was fairly certain that the Sheriff's Secret Police had gotten bored of watching them a while ago, and had probably moved on to a more interesting house.

Finally, Cecil spoke, in a quiet, shuddering voice. "Carlos…"

"Hmm?" he said, gently tracing circles on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"I don't… I mean…" He took a deep breath. "What… Who… am I?" His voice started to crack near the end. "I mean, I just… I don't even know…"

Even though Carlos had been thinking the same things himself just a couple hours ago, seeing Cecil like this, breaking down and terrified, woke some protective impulse in him.

"Sssh, Cecil," he said soothingly, wrapping his arms more tightly around the frightened man. "It doesn't matter what that tape said. You're still you. You're Cecil Palmer. You're a reporter and a radio host and, and the best boyfriend I've ever had. People in this town, they care about you, Cecil… I care about you." He hadn't meant to get so emotional, but the words had just spilled out, and Carlos found that he meant every word he said. "I love you, Cecil."

Cecil squeezed Carlos until he felt like he was going to suffocate. "I love you too, Carlos," he said softly. 

Carlos ran his hand through Cecil's long hair, and Cecil made a little contented sound, relaxing against his boyfriend's chest. They lay like this for a long time, 

The two of them must have dozed off like that. The next morning Cecil woke up frantically, saying he needed to go home and change before going to work. He seemed more like his usual self today, even taking a moment before leaving to greet a small spider that was making its web in the corner. Carlos kissed him goodbye at the door, then went back inside.

As he was cleaning up the frankly kind of disgusting mess from last night's dinner (he really shouldn't have left this out all night), he remembered something else from yesterday's broadcast. 

"Gershwin," he said with a chuckle. There was no way he was going to let that one slide.


End file.
